Synopses & Reviews
"The authors' technical skill and work-environment experience are abundantly apparent in the real-world methodology they bring to the study and understanding of the importance of project management to the success of any organization."-From the Foreword by Norman R. Augustine. Chairman of the Executive Committee, Lockheed-Martin Corporation
Effective project management is an essential skill in virtually every professional and technical setting and, like any skill, it is best mastered through the right combination of in-depth, expert training and hands-on experience.
Visualizing Project Management, Second Edition is today's best resource for both. Delivered by a trio of authors whose combined project management experience is unequaled in the field-a team that has been an integral part of the development of project management from the 1950s to the present-the processes and techniques in this landmark book have been confirmed through the experiences of over 30,000 working project managers and over 100 corporations.
Profound in its simplicity yet unique in its completeness, the integrated approach presented in Visualizing Project Management focuses on the four essential elements of project management:
1. Common Vocabulary: Terms and jargon are defined as they are introduced, minimizing the vocabulary problems that can lead to conflict and undermine otherwise successful teamwork.
2. Teamwork: Each of the fundamentals of real teamwork-from common conduct to shared rewards-is discussed, along with strategies to strengthen this vital component.
3. The Sequential Project Cycle: Valuable lessons are provided to enable you to develop a template for project-unique tactics as well as achieve project-to-project continuity.
4. Management Elements: The authors provide all the techniques and tools you need to guide a project to its successful conclusion-the achievement of stated objectives, within budget and time constraints.
Visualizing Project Management shows you how to breathe life into each of these inanimate project elements. The result is a working guidebook for total project management success-and a tangible model for moving your organization and career forward into the exciting new millennium.
An Integrated Approach to Results-Oriented Project Management
Better . . . Faster . . . Cheaper . . .
Today's take-no-prisoners competitive environment has made this the project management mantra for 2000 and beyond. Enlightened project managers know: Unless you can identify accurately the correct benchmark and correctly isolate how to surpass it, your organization will succeed only in producing a better, faster, cheaper failure.
The bestselling Visualizing Project Management first set the standard for effective project management in 1996, and introduced models that have been adopted by over 100 leading government and private organizations. In this Second Edition, the authors have revised the tools and techniques that changed the foundations of project management in order to help you better understand, compete, and win in today's lightning-fast global business arena.
A few short years ago, the insights and ideas in Visualizing Project Management invented the wheel. Now, its pioneering authors refine your understanding of the project management wheel, as they simplify and clarify the complexities of project management and system engineering.
Also includes a dynamic CD-ROM-Visual Project Management (Visual PM)-providing an interactive software version of the book's revolutionary process model, a guided tour of a commercial project cycle, vocabulary definitions, sample document templates, and more.
Synopsis
Since its publication in 1996, Visualizing Project Management has become an authoritative resource whose visual process model has been adopted by leading companies such as Lucent, NASA, and the CIA. This second edition keeps this reference at the forefront of its field, with the latest viewpoints, techniques, and tools, and includes a CD-ROM with the authors' interactive process model.
Synopsis
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT CLASSICREVISED AND EXPANDED
Now Includes Downloadable Forms and Worksheets
Projects are becoming the heart of business. This comprehensive revision of the bestselling guide to project management explains the processes, practices, and management techniques you need to implement a successful project culture within your team and enterprise. Visualizing Project Management simplifies the challenge of managing complex projects with powerful, visual models that have been adopted by more than 100 leading government and private organizations.
In this new Third Edition, the authorsleading thinkers and practitioners in the fieldkeep you on the cutting edge with a sophisticated approach that integrates project management, systems engineering, and process improvement. This advanced content can help take your career and your organization well beyond the fundamentals.
New, downloadable forms, templates, and worksheets make it easy to implement powerful project techniques and tools.
Includes references to the Project Management Institute Body of Knowledge and the INCOSE Handbook to help you pass:
- The Project Management Professional Certification Exam
- The INCOSE Systems Engineer Certification Exam (CSEP)
"I recommend this book to all those who aspire to project management [and] those who must supervise it."
Norman R. Augustine, former chairman and CEO Lockheed Martin Corporation
"The importance of this excellent book, able to encompass these two key disciplines [systems engineering and project management], cannot be overemphasized."
Heinz Stoewer, President, INCOSE
Synopsis
Visualization: A powerful technique for achieving high performance
Complex systems do not require complex project management. The most effective project managers are able to simplify their project environment and organize projects, large and small, to achieve predictable results. This book explains how anyone responsible for a project can apply the same powerful methods, based on proven visual models, including these five essentials:
Organizational commitmentThe foundation for the project that includes: a culture responsive to the project manager; the project team's charter to do the job; the financial and other necessary resources; and the tools and training for effective execution.
CommunicationThe language and techniques used to interact effectively and function as a project team.
TeamworkEfficiently working together to achieve a common goal, with acknowledged interdependency and trust, acceptance of a common code of conduct, and a shared reward.
Project cycleThe overall strategic and tactical project management approach, performed in periods and phases, and punctuated by key decisions. The project cycle usually starts with the identification of user needs, ends with project products, and is comprised of business, budget, and technical aspects.
Management elementsThe ten categories of management responsibilities, techniques, and tools that are situationally applied throughout all phases of the project cycle by all stakeholders.
Authors Forsberg, Mooz, and Cotterman are leading project management consultants who have helped shape the direction of project management thinking and culture. With the cooperation of their major clients, the processes and techniques in this landmark book have been confirmed and tested by more than 40,000 working project managers.
About the Author
KEVIN FORSBERG, PhD, CSEP, is cofounder of The Center for Systems Management, which provides project management and systems engineering services to an international client list that includes the CIA, Nokia, Lockheed Martin, and NASA. Dr. Forsberg has over forty-five years of experience in the project management and systems engineering fields and has won numerous awards, including the NASA Public Service Medal, the CIA Seal Medallion, and the INCOSE Pioneer Award.
HAL MOOZ, PMP, CSEP, is cofounder of The Center for Systems Management and has twenty-three years of experience consulting to government and private organizations, including AT&T, NASA, Bell Labs, and GTE. He has developed leading university and industry project management training programs and trained more than 10,000 high-technology project managers. He was awarded the CIA Seal Medallion and the INCOSE Pioneer Award.
HOWARD COTTERMAN has served The Center for Systems Management in roles ranging from project manager to president. His executive posts at leading technology companies include vice president of Rockwell International and engineering director responsible for Intel's family of microcomputers.
Table of Contents
Introduction Using Visual Models to Master Complex Systems.
Part One: Using Models and Frameworks to Master Complex Systems.
1. Why Are Project Requirements a Critical Issue?
Maintaining consistency of the business case, the project scope, and customer needs.
2. Visualizing the Project Environment.
Using systems thinking to understand and manage the bigger picture.
3. Modeling the Five Essentials.
Visualizing the critical relationships in managing projects.
Part Two: The Essentials of Project Management.
4. Organizational Commitment.
Ensuring success with management support, quality environment, and needed resources.
5. Project Communication.
Communicating clearly, completely, and concisely.
6. Teamwork.
Maximizing team energy and output.
7. The Project Cycle.
Understanding the steps and gates in every project life cycle.
8. The Ten Management Elements.
Comprehending the relationships among the techniques to be applied throughout the cycle.
Part Three: The Ten Management Elements in Detail.
9. Project Requirements.
Ensuring satisfied users by determining and delivering what’s wanted.
10. Organization Options.
Selecting and adapting the structure for the project.
11. The Project Team.
Getting the right people.
12. Project Planning.
Determining the best way to get there.
13. Opportunities and Their Risks.
Seeking and seizing opportunities and managing their risks.
14. Project Control.
Making sure the right things happen and the wrong things don’t.
15. Project Visibility.
Providing project transparency for everyone involved.
16. Project Status.
Discovering the problems.
17. Corrective Action.
Fixing the problems
18. Project Leadership.
Motivating and inspiring the team.
Part Four: Implementing the Five Essentials.
19. Principles and Tactics for Mastering Complexity.
Implementing the technical development process.
20. Integration, Verification, and Validation.
Delivering the right thing, done right.
21. Improving Project Performance.
Moving beyond success.
Appendixes.
A. Web Site for Forms and Templates.
B. The Professional and Standards Environment.
C. The Role of Unified Modeling Language™ in Systems Engineering.
D. A Summary of the Eight Phase Estimating Process.
E. Overview of the SEI-CMMI.
Glossary One Hundred Commonly Misunderstood Terms.
Notes.
Index.